Healthy Homes

Healthy Homes

Deteriorating housing for low-income residents, both public and privately owned, poses serious health risks. The presence of toxins such as lead paint continues to hurt these communities; we published a report with coalition partners on the City’s failure to enforce the City’s lead paint law. Structural problems including leaking plumbing systems and roofs, poor ventilation, and porous walls and passageways cause asthma triggers such as mold and pest infestations. NYLPI’s attorneys and community organizers work directly with community-based organizations, advocacy groups, and tenant associations to represent tenants and build campaigns focused on remediating dangerous housing conditions, including toxins and environments that exacerbate respiratory problems and disabilities. We have represented groups of tenants exposed to extremely high levels of lead dust during construction and demolition work in their buildings, and working in coalition in 2018 we secured passage of the City’s Asthma Free Housing Act.